BOURNEMOUTH, England — Chris Billam-Smith is hoping a showdown with Badou Jack could put him on a path towards a revenge mission against Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez.

The Ring’s No. 2-rated cruiserweight got back to winning ways at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a hard-fought but ultimately comfortable unanimous decision victory over Brandon Glanton on April 26.

The 34-year-old is back in his hometown ahead of a return to training with Shane McGuigan in Leyton, east London, this summer and WBC champion Jack remains his No.1 priority.

It is a frustrating time to be a cruiserweight without a belt given that Ramirez holds the WBA and WBO titles while The Ring champion Jai Opetaia holds the IBF. They are both in action during June and, assuming both come through unscathed, expected to fight each other in a unification before 2025 is out.

That leaves Jack, 41, and his WBC title the only realistic target for Billam-Smith, fourth with the IBF and WBC and No. 1 with the WBO. Jack finally drew a line under more than two years of inactivity when he beat Noel Mikaelian in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 3 via razor-tight majority decision.

As reported by The Ring earlier this week, Mikaelian was seething with the result and his promoter Don King and advisor Anthony Girges have since filed appeals with the WBC in a bid to secure an immediate rematch.

But Billam-Smith, who did not believe the Jack-Mikaelian fight was worthy of the WBC title, is hoping his lofty position across the board will help him to finally nail down a crack at the green and gold belt.

“From what I hear, Zurdo and Opetaia will fight each other if they both come through their next fights, which I expect them to do,” Billam-Smith told The Ring.

“That’s an interesting fight in itself, but for me that only leaves Jack as a target to win a belt. Obviously I am the No. 4 still with the WBC and beat the No. 5 in Glanton. I would like to think that I'd be well in position to fight Badou Jack next.

“That would be the ideal fight. Do I want to fight for a world title? Yes. I don't really want to keep having these in-between fights. I understand the last one I had to because I was coming off the back of a loss, but I just felt like if you fight someone in the top five with that sanctioning body, you'd think it'd boost you up the rankings, especially given my previous experience of being world champion. I'd love to get the Badou Jack fight, that would be ideal.”

In the end, Jack beat Mikaelian after one judge had it a 114-114 draw while the other two scored it 115-113 in his favour, which is the closest possible margin anyone can win by in a 12-round fight. Billam Smith added: “I'd probably give it to Mikaelian, to be honest.

“Overall it's an interesting one in terms of the level for WBC world champion. I think there's a lot of fighters out there that could have beaten both of them that night, but Badou Jack still has a lot of ability and skill, but it's obviously a long layoff, so you'd expect him to be a lot better in his next fight.”

It is two years ago this month that Billam-Smith won the WBO cruiserweight title, via majority decision, from Lawrence Okolie on an unforgettable night at the Vitality Stadium, home of AFC Bournemouth. He made two successful defences of that belt, including a revenge win against Richard Riakporhe, before he surrendered it to Ramirez, who claimed a UD at the Venue Riyadh Season in November.

It was a physically tough fight for Billam-Smith, who broke his right thumb, fractured his left eye and sustained a deep cut above his left eye. Even so, The Gentleman is desperate for the chance to set the record straight against Ramirez.

“I'd love to fight Zurdo again,” he said. “I'd love that opportunity, just like I did with Richard Riakporhe, who was the first person to beat me as a pro.

“I put that one right in our second fight and now I want to avenge the Zurdo one, too. I want to right that wrong.

“It was a fantastic fight and he won correctly, but it was competitive throughout. It'd be a fight I'd love. I’d go in there a lot smarter defensively. I went in there relying too much on brute strength, a bit too attack-minded.

“This time I would not look to throw with him and hope my shots knock him out, which wasn't the game plan, but it felt like that at times in there. But it felt like that where I was chasing the fight I had to just look to land something big and I just wasn't able to.

“I would go in there with more intelligence and it would definitely be a different outcome."

Ramirez’s next outing comes against Yuniel Dorticos in Anaheim, California, on June 28 on the undercard of Jake Paul’s 10-rounder with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Amazingly, it has been suggested that it could be Paul who faces Ramirez next if both win.

Such a fight would be a further spanner in the works for Billam-Smith and rest of the chasing pack, but he would not begrudge either of them for taking it. Instead, he's hoping to secure some ring time of his own with Paul when the pair visit New York in July.

Billam-Smith will be in attendance as his stablemate and close friend Ellie Scotney fights Yamileth Mercado at Madison Square Garden on an MVP show promoted by Paul himself on July 11.

And while you will not find "CBS" attempting to shout his way into a fight with Paul, he will be taking his gumshield just in case.

“I’m sure we will have a chat,” Billam-Smith said. “I will definitely have my sparring gear and I will see if he wants to get some rounds in.

“It would be very interesting to see what he’s like. I really respect what he does. I see he puts the work in. I’d be very up for a spar while I’m there. It would be fun.”